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El Pollo Loco ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Nov 2025 (Fillmore St.) First visit: Apr 1998 (Santa Clara, CA) HQ: Costa Mesa, CA; Founded: 1980 (Los Angeles, CA) ---11/7/25 (Colorado Springs) Now here's a blast from the past. My first experience with El Pollo Loco was in Santa Clara while there on a consulting assignment. Since that time, I've visited El Pollo Loco's in West Hollywood, San Antonio, Denver, Phoenix, and North Richland Hills. The latter arrived in NE Tarrant towards the end of our stint there. It was also not very good, and that location has been long closed. Other than that fateful visit, our trips to El Pollo Loco had been a success. I never penned any notes about any of those trips. They just recently opened up here in the Springs (turns out to be their 500th location!), so Mrs. RJG and I decided to give a try again. Let's see how it went. Even before leaving the house, we'd read that the parking situation was no bueno. We got there at 10:45 before the crowds, and had no issues. ...

Canon City MUGS ~ Canon City, Colorado

First visit: Nov 2025 ---11/7/25 We try to visit Canon City at least once per annum, though this year we've only passed through. We decided it was time to visit our favorite Colorado getaway which is Westcliffe, and made a point to have some lunch in Canon City on the way. We don't really have a regular eating spot in Canon City, though we were pleased with Bunkhouse Burgers that we tried for the first time last year. In reviewing restaurants, the town sports a number of fetching bars in downtown, that feature fine food. But it was lunch time, and neither of us felt like a libation. Especially since we knew we were going to splurge on ice cream at Sugarlump in Westcliffe. Up came Canon City MUGS, a place that has a dual personality, and that aspect is not reflected well on Google Maps. Essentially what you have here is two distinct restaurants, shared by an open door and the same kitchen. One serves primarily coffee, breakfast, and lunch. The other is a classic sports bar setup...

Cafe Rio ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Oct 2025 (Briargate near Chapel Hills mall) First visit: May 2011 (Glendale, CO) HQ: Salt Lake City, UT; Founded: 1997 (St. George, UT) ---10/31/25 (Colorado Springs) It's been 14 years since I first went to a Cafe Rio, and have subsequently forgot about the original experience. I've been wanting to get over here for well over a year, since they first opened here in the Springs. It's not too far from where we live, but I'm just never in this area during lunchtime. Today I made it a priority. Cafe Rio is in every way similar to another Utah chain that we've covered extensively here in the RJG: Costa Vida. Get in line, and your counter server will pull out an aluminum round tray. I ordered the Rio Burrito, so first comes the big floppy flour tortilla. Filled with rice, and choice of pinto or black beans. Then a protein, and I went with the Fire Roasted Chicken. Essentially grilled and spiced chicken, cut into cubes. Then they add a salsa. Followed by you...

Pad Thai Cafe ~ Albuquerque, New Mexico

First visit: Oct 2025 ---10/31/25 Seems every other visit to Albuquerque reveals a new favorite Thai place, and then we dismiss it on the second try. Hopefully that doesn't happen here. One of the best Thai meals we've experienced in a long time. I ordered my Thai Basil "Thai style" and received it exactly as hoped. Loaded with smoky ground chicken, rice, tons of basil and peppers, and very spicy. I laid off Thai Hot only because we were traveling, but it's apparent I would have received it that way. They also provide Prik Nam Pla, and I loaded up on those oily spicy red cut peppers. I miss those flavors. Mrs. RJG had the Drunken Noodles with chicken, and loads of vegetables. She loved it. The restaurant is cozy inside, with plenty of plants and vegetation. As expected, to-go orders seem to dominate the kitchen's time. Pad Thai Cafe resides in the southeast part of town. It sits in one of those strip centers that features an international grocery store and a J...

The Creek ~ Cripple Creek, Colorado

First visit: Oct 2025 ---10/11/25 A week ago Friday, Mrs. RJG and I decided to take a mountain drive and take in the beautiful Fall colors of the Aspen trees. As we gradually ascended from Woodland Park to Cripple Creek, the trees were as golden yellow as I've ever seen in my life. Blue skies, cool weather, and bright yellow trees. What a site to behold. Traffic was slow, which was great, so I could also enjoy the scenery as the driver. We agreed then that we must take this drive every year around this time. Though we've been to Cripple Creek a few times over the years, we've never stopped to do anything. They legalized gambling here in 1991, but that didn't matter to me when I first arrived in 1993. Neither of us are into gambling, so it's just a matter of stopping and finding things to do. You know, like thrifting and eating. Which is exactly what we did. They have a nice thrift store BTW. The highest rated restaurant in town is The Creek. Looked like the perfect ...

Paris Baguette ~ global chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

First visit: Sep 2025 (Voyager) ---9/14/25 (Colorado Springs) Paris Baguette is a global chain based in Seoul, South Korea, who prices their items like we all live in the 3rd Arrondissement of Paris itself. Look what I got for 17 bucks. That's right, a pre-made sandwich (that they heated up for me) and a caramel macchiato. The sandwich is made onsite, and is actually quite good. Excellent bread and the ingredients were of a higher grade. But not that much better. I just cannot understand the economics of these places. If they charged a reasonable amount, say $10 or $11 (which is inline with other places I frequent), then I'd be a regular visitor. You have me in the door already, why chase me away? Think about it. Already on my second visit, you have 20 of my dollars. The employees and the food costs are already built in. By the third visit, you now have $30. And on it goes, where the profits and, more importantly revenue, continue to rise. The money is in the multiples. This i...

Mountain Mike's Pizza ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

First visit: Aug 2025 (Voyager) Founded: 1978 (Palo Alto, CA) HQ: Newport Beach, CA ---8/30/25 (Colorado Springs) We often drove by Mountain Mike's as they were building out their new spot off of the feeder freeway from I-25 to Voyager. Having never been, Mrs. RJG and I were curious how good it is. We waited until football season, and on this fine Saturday at lunch we ordered online for takeout, a medium sausage pie to enjoy while watching a few plays of the Texas / Ohio State opener. Arch Manning is the starting quarterback. The grandson of Archie Manning, who I watched play for the Saints when I was a kid. There's just something magical and nostalgic about the first week of college football (and the NFL when it starts next week). The restaurant is a large space and is geared for both local takeout (they have delivery as well) as well as for diners. No doubt they wanted to be "close to the action" near the Ford Amphitheater. Upon arrival back home, Mrs. RJG had the ...

Goat Patch Brewing ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Aug 2025 (Voyager Pkwy.) First visit: Dec 2018 (Cascade Ave.) ---8/28/25 (Voyager) Much has changed in the world of Goat Patch since I last updated this post. All for the good. First they bought out Pikes Peak Brewing in Monument, but left the branding intact (hooray). And now they opened up a brewpub right here in RJG land. Across the street no less! In the same shopping center of RJG fave Zapata Tacos. This is the closest we've ever lived to a local brewery. And it seems they took our advice (and others I'm sure) that no one "owned the north" of Colorado Springs. Which is crazy considering this is one of the nicest parts of town. Of course it takes money to do that, but apparently Goat Patch has been very successful. So much so, they're also canning their beers. Likely because they took over Pikes Peak which did similar. I've been wanting to go since they opened, but there's always some reason why we didn't. Finally we found the perfect...

Happy Eats Pasta ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/30/25 I'm two weeks late in getting this post up and running. I was here for a Friday at lunch, not long after we returned from our trip to western Colorado. I've been meaning to add new places to the RJG but I often forget which ones, especially considering I could be anywhere in town. But on this day I made a point of coming over here. Happy Eats sits in the renovated part of South Nevada, an area they are still upgrading. It was quite rundown when we moved back to the Springs in 2018. It's a full service restaurant, so I grabbed a table, perused the menu (which I'd done online already), and ordered away. I was most curious how their Chicken Parm sandwich would be. First of all I must say that their website is the way to do it! Everything looks so delicious. Even better is that the photos aren't figments of the owner's imagination.  My sandwich came out better than hoped. Crispy and chewy bread , excellent red sauce, perfectly cooke...

The Chile Pod ~ Farmington, New Mexico

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/23/25 Leaving Bluff and heading to the Four Corners region of Arizona is a bit scary. There is nothing there. No signs of any kind of life, other than maybe snakes, spiders, and scorpions. You just pray your car will make it to civilization. Fortunately, Zippy (my Acura SUV with over 100,000 miles) was up to the task and eventually humans reappeared onto the landscape. As we entered New Mexico, the poor just gets poorer. There's not much to see here other than poverty. And an incredible nature structure known as Shiprock. And that's exactly what it looks like - a huge ship frozen in time, fossilized.  The oasis in this area is Farmington, a relatively pleasant town that seems much larger than it is. I was reminded of similar small towns in Oklahoma or Kansas. Plenty of shops and places to eat. Normal commerce that is to say. I'd never been here before and was curious for some years. We did some thrifting in downtown and then it was time for lunch...

Comb Ridge Eat and Drink ~ Bluff, Utah

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/23/25 After Ridgway we took the gorgeous drive around Telluride and down to Cortez for a little thrifting. The landscape goes from stunning green mountains to boring arid desert pretty quickly once you drive through Dolores. I hadn't been to Cortez since 1994. There's not much to do or see there, but it makes for a nice stop. And 31 years ago I stayed overnight on my way to Tucson. We then headed over to southeast Utah, and our final destination was to be Bluff. What a day we had for travel, though. If you read the Lazy Dog Saloon review, you'll have noted that we had a 90 minute delay due to a bad car wreck. Once we drove into Utah, the roads immediately got much better. Beautifully paved and newly painted. As we were gliding towards our destination, signs for road construction started to pop up. Uh-oh. Yep, they were of the worst kind: The one way road. There were about four of these, and one of them took close to an hour wait. It was just madde...

Lazy Dog Saloon ~ Ridgway, Colorado

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/23/25 This was not the original plan. We started the day with a hike in Montrose, and then we were to journey to Telluride. Unfortunately there was a very bad wreck with casualties on US-550, which forced the state patrol to shut the freeway. The subsequent detour took us way out on a route that included unpaved roads. The delay was about 90 minutes. And we were the lucky ones, especially after Google Maps gave us a nice shortcut (making up for their transgressions with Spenny's yesterday - see Mochas review). And those going north most likely had a 3 to 4 hour delay. It didn't help that the detoured route had one lane closed for construction. What a complete mess. But we were all alive, so what's to complain about? We finally arrived at the thrift shop in Ridgway, a town we'd never stopped in before. Afterwards it was already lunch time, so why not eat here and we'll visit Telluride another day (maybe). It wasn't meant to be. Lazy Dog...

Mochas Coffeehouse & Bakery ~ Gunnison, Colorado

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/23/25 Two years ago we stopped into Gunnison for some thrifting and Spenny's ice cream. Google Maps told us that Spenny's wasn't open until 4. Well that's stupid, why do that? As we drove out of town, we saw that Spenny's was indeed open. Nice work Google, making sure hard working people lose business. It was particularly frustrating after-the-fact because we had gone to Mochas instead for our ice cream. Despite the positive reviews, we weren't quite as impressed. The ice cream wasn't very creamy nor tasty. Not sure if they make their own or they get it from somewhere else. Service was slow as well. It certainly wasn't terrible, but this is not where we are going next time in Gunnison. 8/5/25  8/23/25 (new entry)

Romeo's Cafe ~ Salida, Colorado

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/23/25 It's time for The RJG's to hit the road for our first trip to Western Colorado in two years! I had every intention of getting these writeups closer to the moment, but other activities called me away. I did, however, update the existing posts awhile back. So now it's been close to three weeks since we left. With that, these reviews will be short. Not that they're ever that long to begin with. Salida seemed like the perfect place to enjoy a breakfast, early lunch. Romeo's popped up and the reviews are excellent. It's an old fashioned breakfast house, and since it's still tourist season, there was a (short) waiting list even on a Tuesday morning. I've been getting in the mood lately for smothered burritos after taking a break, and you can see what I had. That green chile is absolutely outstanding. Crave-worthy actually. Very spicy with a distinct flavor I'd never experienced before. The interior was filled with eggs and ...

Feelin' A Little Philly ~ Pueblo, Colorado

First visit: Aug 2025 ---8/2/25 I had no idea this place existed, and sits right next door to a thrift shop and flea market I frequent at least once a month. Tucked away on the street side of the strip mall, it's clear from the signage this place has been here a while. Walk in and order at the counter. Plenty of seating. They don't have a fountain machine, so you'll have to get your drinks by the bottle. I went for what they call a "Regular Feelin'" which is the traditional Philly Cheesesteak. It came out piping hot loaded with meats, diced onions, and gooey cheese. Excellent. The menu also had some fetching looking Italian sandwich items as well. Definitely an RJG Rotation addition. 8/1/25  8/2/25 (new entry)

Billy's Old World Pizza and Italian Cafe ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

First visit: Jun 2025 ---7/3/25 Back in 2017, Mrs. RJG and I were in Pittsburgh. One of many undocumented trips in the RJG, though fortunately I kept my spreadsheet up to date. There was a place called Sharp Edge Beer Emporium (now closed apparently) that had the best thin crust pizza I'd ever had up to that point. We now have a new winner! Billy's Old World Pizza is heavily Chicago Food focused, and they specialize in Chicago pizzas - both deep dish and thin crust. I'm not a big deep dish guy, and besides even the small is too much for one person. I was very tempted to get an Italian beef and sausage sandwich, especially since we just had similar at Pop's in the south Chicago suburbs. But I was determined to try the thin crust pizza. I got a small 10", which believe me I had all I could do to finish it. Billy's is a one man shop and he (Jim) takes great care in making your pizza. Mine was with Italian sausage, and he makes his own sausage too! You don't se...

Craft Cones ~ Pueblo, Colorado

First visit: Jun 2025 ---6/15/25 Back home from our trip. It's the first Friday of the month, so I like to go to Pueblo and take advantage of the citywide 20% discount. This isn't mandatory but many establishments honor that tradition. Location: Located in downtown in a corner unit. It's a very small space without a bathroom. Two patio tables are available for seating outside. Perhaps because we enjoyed ice cream on our recent excursion to Detroit and back, I was in the mood for a dessert after enjoying Pass Key for lunch. I was already downtown digging for records, and discovered Craft Cones. As their name suggests, they make their own ice cream. I wanted coffee but they were out of it, so I went with their "Good 'Ol Chocolate". As the name suggests, you really can't go wrong with that selection. Had one scoop in a waffle cone. Sat outside on the table you see and devoured with much happiness. 6/6/25 6/15/25 (new entry)

Nebraska Ale Works ~ Kearney, Nebraska

First visit: Jun 2025 ---6/15/25 After Des Moines, we were pretty much done with digging for the trip. If we had gone for another day, we for certain would have dedicated it to Omaha and Lincoln. But there simply wasn't time, and we drove around both cities. Kearney is a convenient stop in the middle of Nebraska. I stayed here for a similar reason on my journey from Denver to Winnipeg and Regina back in 2011 (as noted in the Crawford review). Location: This used to be Old Chicago, and unbelievably that's where I ate in my one prior trip to Kearney! So I've been to the building twice but the restaurant only once haha. Forgot to photo the building. Our hotel was a three minute walk away. Love when that happens! Food: Nebraska Ale Works is what I call a "craft tavern". Essentially the same as a brewpub except instead of their own beers, they bring in a variety of other craft beers. The best of these focus strictly on the state they're in. And that's precisely...

Tasty Tacos ~ West Des Moines, Iowa

First visit: Jun 2025 ---6/15/25 Now the drives are getting longer as we have essentially two days to get home. While we didn't exhaust Des Moines in our digging activities, we did manage to cover some quality ground. We're in the Midwest and we haven't had tacos yet? Need to solve that problem pronto! Location: Relatively elaborate Spanish exterior for a fast food joint, though once inside, the atmosphere becomes familiar. It's a large space, and it was very crowded while we were there. Another pre-pandemic type crowd.  My photo only captured the parking lot view, but their website shows the streetside. Food: Tasty Tacos has all the earmarks of a quality local chain. No over expansion to cheapen the product. So the gimmick here is what they call "fluffy flour tacos". So we ordered one of those and one crispy each. Uh-oh, Mrs. RJG does not like the concept of fluffy tacos at all. So she got my other crispy taco that you see and I ate the second flour taco. Tha...

Crawford Brew Works ~ Bettendorf, Iowa

First visit: Jun 2025 ---6/15/25 After wrapping up in Ottawa, we made the journey west to the Quad Cities. I've never been prior, and made a point to stay on the Iowa side of the border. Like with Indiana, my experience in Iowa is quite limited. We haven't spent a night here since 2009 when we stayed in Des Moines. We had a memorable Italian dinner at Gino's, but they are now closed unfortunately. The last time I set foot in Iowa was in 2011 in Sioux City as I wanted to try Milwaukee Wiener House for lunch (excellent BTW) on my way to Winnipeg. Location: An expansive free standing building. Two stories including a large bar seating area. A great place to host an event, and there were at least two of those when we were there. Food: Fortunately Mrs. RJG was in the mood for another brewpub, and Crawford fit the bill. As with Evil Czech in Indiana, I was able to check off another state that I consumed a local beer in. The photo just shows my spicy breaded chicken sandwich. And ...

Tone's Cones ~ Ottawa, Illinois

First visit: Jun 2025 ---6/15/25 We were tired of the traffic of Chicago and were looking forward to getting back out to the country. Ottawa seemed like a quaint place, and it is. Completely different in feel, we were back in small town America. And what better way to enjoy a place such as this than with an ice cream. Location: They have two small stands next to each other. One is a walkup, while the other has a small interior. Patio styled seating outside. And we sat under one of those umbrellas you see in the background. Mrs. RJG was craving a chocolate / vanilla swirl soft serve and we each got one. One of those can't miss propositions. A wonderful mid afternoon snack. 6/1/25 6/15/25 (new entry)

Pop's Italian Beef & Sausage ~ Mokena, Illinois

First visit: Jun 2025 ---6/15/25 The plan on this Sunday was to work the far southern Chicago suburbs. I knew exactly what I wanted for lunch: BEEF. Location: Anchors a  modern strip mall. Typical fast food setup. I like the bright yellow with red text signage. Food: From about 1997 to 2004, I was in Chicago often, and we had an office in the inner ring suburb of Westchester. Nearby were towns like Bellwood, Broadview, and Maywood - each housing restaurants that said little more than Beef or Hot Dogs on the window. That's it. You don't go to these places looking for cage free eggs or quinoa. And you can see my beef and sausage in all its glory to your right. The au jus was on the side as we both don't like a mushy sandwich. I preferred the sausage just slightly over the beef. Mrs. RJG stayed with just beef. I feared she wouldn't like it as the bread started to mush up on the bottom. But she did really enjoy it much to my surprise. Said both the meat and the bread were r...

Evil Czech Brewery & Public House ~ Mishawaka, Indiana

First visit: May 2025 ---6/14/25 Even though I've traveled extensively around the United States, Indiana is one state that I've barely touched. In fact I've only spent three nights here in total, and the last two were from the same trip in 1992. And the last time we ate in Indiana was at a barbeque place on the other side of Louisville, Kentucky on the way to Grand Rapids in 2015 (since closed). It's been 33 years since I spent a night here, so that was the plan after making a few stops in southern Michigan. I've never been to South Bend, the home of the famous Notre Dame. And we visited the campus briefly the next morning. We're at that stage of the trip where we aren't going to a brewery followed by dinner, but rather we're combining them in one stop. Location: A very large venue with a concert stage in the back, and a couple of big spaces inside. It's rare these days to get the feeling of 2019 back, but Evil Czech was a happening place on this Sat...

Andy's Pizza and Coney Island ~ Jackson, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 They have a second location in town which seems more like a to-go only place. And a third place in nearby Michigan Center. On this Saturday morning I went very early to the Record Show in Livonia, and then the plan was to hit the road at about 10 or so in the morning (which we did). We were both ready for the road trip portion of the vacation. The long journey back to Colorado Springs. We were already on our third rental SUV as the first two didn't work out. Haha, so typical. We rented from Enterprise and they could not have been nicer and they bent over backwards for us. Their vehicles need an upgrade (badly), but can't complain about their customer service. Pizza was such a hit the day before, Mrs. RJG wanted another one! Well alll-right! And Andy's features both of the Detroit favorites including Coney Island. But we had pizza on the brain. Location: Standalone building. What we used to call a pizza parlor . Very friendly service. Food: W...

Thai Basil ~ Livonia, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 They have a second location in Novi. You knew it was coming. No trip is complete for Mrs. RJG if we don't go at least to one Thai restaurant. Fine with me. The trick is finding the right one. I'm very particular with Thai. I favor traditional Thai places, generally found in Bangkok. And I really do not like "American Thai". Mrs. RJG is less picky on this front. We hit a homerun with Baramee in Kansas City two years ago. Will we be so lucky here in Detroit? Location: Strip center. Nicely allocated restaurant. Old school setting that is slightly dark. Cozy for dining. Food: I did my homework here. For one we wanted to be in Livonia if possible. Other than location, would I be able to find my traditional Thai? Despite Thai Basil doing everything they could to ward me off, by offering sushi, pho, and ramen, I sensed the cooks and owners were Thai and they were branching out to drum up business. My instincts proved correct! We started with ...

SuperNatural Brewing & Eats ~ Livonia, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 It's the late afternoon and we both agreed we'd like to be close to the hotel for drinks and dinner. SuperNatural looks perfect. Let's see what we have here. Location: A large free standing building. Much nicer than your average hole in the wall brewery. We sat in the bar area, which was cozy and dark.  Excellent beers* and friendly bartenders. No idea about the food but suspect it's very good. They specialize in pub food: Burgers, Nachos, Sandwiches, etc... * - A reminder that all the beers I personally consume are cataloged in the Bier Reise (see tab at the top of the primary blog page) 5/30/25 6/13/25 (new entry)

Custard Corner ~ Trenton, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 As if pizza wasn't enough, Mrs. RJG was craving soft serve ice cream. Since we were working the south side of Detroit, I looked for the closest place. Up came Custard Corner. Location: Sits on the corner of what looks like an idyllic little town in the country. Walk up and place your order. A very friendly lady was working this day (owner?).  We got what we came for - soft serve vanilla and chocolate swirl. Found a bench and devoured. Hit the spot. Hard to take photos of ice cream so I usually don't. 5/30/25 6/13/25 (new entry)

Paisano's Pizza ~ Dearborn, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 After Cadillac Straits, we decided to only snack for dinner. The next day, after making a few stops in the morning, we were starving for lunch. Mrs. RJG suggested pizza. Mrs. RJG never suggests pizza. I'm not going to pass on this opportunity. As many of you know, Detroit Pizza is a thing. In fact we have a category already assigned here at the RJG. Mr. Music went to such a place in the DFW area a few years back (and we added the chain Jet's!). On reflection, I cannot say I've ever had Detroit pizza. Well then, time to rectify that great omission! Location: On Schaefer near Ford Rd. Old fashioned brick buildings housing commerce that line the street. There is a parking lot on the side. Restaurant is very large and features a buffet section that was closed on this Friday. Food: Pizza is definitely their primary offering even though they do offer subs, salads, and pasta dinners. Dearborn has become one of the Arab centers in Detroit, and Paisa...

Cadillac Straits Brewing ~ Madison Heights, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 We continued to work our way south back into the city of Detroit. After a full day of digging, we'd built up a thirst. Closest brewery? Cadillac Straits. Let's go there. Bright open space with plenty of seating, and a bar area. Excellent beers and friendly bartenders. Yea I took a big ol' gulp before the photo. I was thirsty! Food looked good too, though we weren't very hungry and moved on. 5/29/25 6/13/25 (new entry)

Biff's Coney Island ~ Commerce Township, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/13/25 We were in the far NW edges of the Detroit metro area when it was lunch time. I knew exactly what type of food I wanted, and we'll pick the closest one that looks good. Personal history with Coney Island: Even though we've been together at Nathan's in New York City, the origin of "Coney Island" when referring to a food genre, is in Detroit. We found a restaurant in Jackson, Michigan claiming to be first, but that seems to be a popular claim of many places in the area. As noted in the DeLuca's review, I spent some time in Detroit for work. It was both in 2006 and 2007 that I went to my first Coney Island restaurants. Both were chains in the suburb of Troy where our office was: Kerby's and National. And both chains are still around though National has shrunk quite a bit. Those events were just before this blog's beginning but it's exactly these type of places that inspired me to start this blog in the first place. Loc...

DeLuca's Italian ~ Westland, Michigan

First visit: May 2025 ---6/10/25 Mrs. RJG and I are on our first road trip of retirement. Or half road trip. We flew into Detroit and then drove back in a rental. The idea was to fill the SUV with goodies, including beer (see Bier Reise for current updates). Which we did. A successful trip overall with the usual curveballs these kind of trips throw at you. I plan on an update or two each day as time allows. Have about 10 of these to go. Personal history with Detroit: Mostly business trips between 2004 and 2007. And I had a key interview here in 2016. Had that company made me an offer, Detroit would have been my Baltimore. And we know how that turned out. Perhaps for the better, as that proved to be the peak of my career. My first trip here however was a quick stopover in Livonia on my way to Ohio. This was way back in 1992. I went to a record shop (of course I did) and I didn't have enough time to mine Detroit. In fact this was my first ever record venture in the city. So it was fi...

NJ's Taqueria ~ Hickory Creek, Texas

Today, Mister Music went solo. A mobile taqueria opened up on FM 2181 just West of Genti's in Hickory Creek. I've passed it a few times always looking for an opportunity to check it out. Yesterday, my close friend, Soundgarden Cuz went and had a breakast burrito. Eggs, queso blanco and chorizo tightly stuffed in a big flour tortilla and grilled all around. He said it was delicious and it looked that way to me. I'm constantly looking for a good place for breakfast burritos.  Today, I decided to stop by just to check it out and get a breakfast taco. I got eggs, queso blanco and pan-fried potatoes. It was a good sized flour tortilla as far as taco standards go and was packed as fat as can be with the yummy filling oozing on either size.  I got some salsa verde and salsa rojo on the side. Both were creamy and tasty with a good kick! The green was spicier than the red. Although the tortilla was not grilled like my friend's burrito, I was very pleased with the flavor and po...